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National Information |
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Superfund Program
Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock
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Site Type: Active NPL |
Site Status & Updates
- EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) are proposing to list this Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in Spring 2008.
- The Removal Program at EPA plans to stabilize the Commodore Waste Rock pile and redesign drainage around the pile.
Site Description
The Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock Site is located in the San Juan Mountains in south central Colorado. The site lies one mile above the town of Creede in Mineral County, Colorado. The site consists of an abandoned mine site which includes a draining adit that drains directly into West Willow Creek and the Commodore Waste Rock pile immediately upslope and surrounding the Nelson Tunnel adit. West Willow Creek drains into Willow Creek, which flows into the Rio Grande River approximately four miles from the site.Historically, mining of silver, lead, and zinc provided economic viability to the area in and around the Creede mining district. The activity resulted in contaminated water discharging into the Willow Creek drainage and mine waste piles accumulating in the watershed. Characterization of the watershed identified the Nelson Tunnel adit drainage as the largest source of cadmium, lead and zinc in the Willow Creek watershed.
The Commodore Waste Rock pile also contains elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc. In 2005, drainage constructed around the pile failed during a flood. The Commodore Waste Rock pile is now highly unstable and partially lies in West Willow Creek and Willow Creek. The potential exists for these piles to contaminate the town of Creede during another flood.
Site Risk
| Media Affected | Contaminants | Source of Contamination |
| surface water, mining waste rock pile | arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc | mining |
The site is approximately five acres in size and consists of a draining adit and a large waste rock pile both containing high levels of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc. West Willow Creek runs through the site carrying contamination into Willow Creek and the Rio Grande River four miles below the site. A biological assessment of the Willow Creek watershed indicated concentrations for cadmium, lead, and zinc that exceed recommended dietary intake benchmarks and aquatic water standards for fish and birds. These analyses identified cleanup of the Nelson Tunnel as a key element to restoring the Willow Creek stream and streamside habitat.
Since mining has moved out of the area, tourism and recreation have become the town's economic backbone. Fishing is an important part of recreation for visitors and locals. Fisheries have been impacted to the point that no fish exist for approximately a two mile stretch below the site. Below that the fish are sparse and appear to be suffering from reproductive effects of metal contamination. Willow Creek is a tributary of the Rio Grande River, a state designated Gold Medal fishery.
The residents of the town of Creede could be affected if another flood were to occur. The recent flooding sent waste rock below town, but did not breech the banks through town. If a greater than 20-year-flood were to occur, it could flood over the banks bringing contamination into town and potentially resulting in fish kills further downstream.
Cleanup Progress
Over the past eight years other cleanup alternatives for the entire watershed have been evaluated by the community, CDPHE, EPA, and other federal and state agencies. Much of the watershed has been addressed using other alternatives. Some of these other projects included facilitation of assessments as well as cleanup and reclamation of much of the mining district. Future watershed projects below the Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock site and the town cannot move forward until this significant problem is addressed.Due to the technical complexity and cost of the problem, Superfund remains the only viable option to address the contamination coming from the Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock site. The CDPHE and EPA have worked closely with the community on this site, and letters of support for placing this site on the NPL from the town of Creede, Mineral County and the Governor have been written.
By listing this site on the National Priorities List (NPL) those determined to be responsible for the contamination will pay for the cleanup. If no responsible parties can be found or the potentially responsible parties are unable to pay, Federal Superfund dollars will be used to fund the cleanup.
While waiting on the final decision as to whether the site will be placed on the National Priorities List, work will begin on stabilizing the Commodore Waste Rock Pile and redesigning drainage around the pile.
The site has been formally proposed to the NPL, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposal during a 60-day public comment period ending May 19, 2008. After all comments have been addressed, the final decision will be made on whether or not to list the Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock Site. Then the Superfund law gives EPA and CDPHE the authority to investigate how best to address this site.
This is done by completing a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to characterize the site. This consists of collecting information to determine the extent or boundaries of the site as well as evaluating several alternatives for cleanup of the site contamination. The information is analyzed and presented in a RI/FS Report that is used for addressing potential cleanup actions.
Site Documents
Note: the following document is an Adobe Acrobat PDF fileAbout PDF files
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EPA Press Release - March 19, 2008
(PDF, 3 pp, 17K)
2007 Fact Sheet (PDF, 4 pp, 371K)
HRS Package (The NPL proposal) (PDF, 22 pp, 440K)
Public Notice - March 19, 2008 (PDF, 2 pp)
Nelson Tunnel pictures (PDF, 4 pp, 399K)
Community Involvement
Listing this site on the NPL guarantees the public an opportunity to participate in cleanup decisions. Once a site is proposed for listing in the Federal Register there is a sixty-day comment period, and people are encouraged to submit comments about the listing.Information that EPA used to document the proposed listing of the site is available on this web page or at the following locations:
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U.S. EPA
Superfund Records Center
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202
Town Hall
Meeting Room
2223 N. Main Street
Creede, CO 81130
For written comments, provide the original and one copy to the following address:
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Docket Coordinator, Headquarters
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
CERCLA Cocket Office (Mail Code - 5305T)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20460
(202) 566-0276
Throughout the listing process the Superfund law requires that the stakeholders and the community be given every opportunity to have meaningful input on how the site is cleaned up. Both EPA and CDPHE staff have spoken with local officials, the community, and other stakeholders to understand any issues and concerns about this site.
Upon final listing of the Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock Site, a Community Involvement Plan (CIP) will be developed as part of any remedial action at a Superfund site. A CIP identifies the outreach activities that EPA intends to use to address community concerns and provide for two-way communications.
Contacts
| EPA
Gwen Christiansen
Peggy Linn |
Colorado Deparment of Public Health and Environment
Barbara Nabors
Jeannine Natterman |
